Background
He was born at Aarstad in Egersund as a son of farmers.
He was born at Aarstad in Egersund as a son of farmers.
He was a first cousin of Søren Tobias Årstad, and moved to Stavanger to be a merchant like Søren"s side of the family. He was elected to Stavanger city council, and in 1909 to the Parliament of Norway as a deputy representative. He was the running mate of Jonas Schanche Kielland, and met in his place in parliamentary session in both 1911 and 1912.